Brassiere constructions in a myriad of forms are well-known in the art, including brassieres having breast cups in which selected areas are formed of different resistance to stretching than are other areas of the breast cups.
Typical of such a garment is the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,137 issued Sept. 15, 1981. In that patent, a brassiere construction is taught in which an upper portion of the respective breast cups are comprised of an essentially non-stretchable fabric, the lower portions thereof being formed from a material that is stretchable in both vertical and horizontal directions. The purpose of the construction of this patent is to limit upward bounce of the breasts during jogging or similar athletic activities.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,362 issued Feb. 8, 1955 teaches a similar construction in which upper portions of the breast cups are sculpted to present a configuration in which the upper portion of the breast is confined, any excess volume of the breast being forced downwards and being permitted to bulge downwardly towards the wearer's waist line. In this way, a minimization of the visually observed breast volume is achieved, but, only at the expense of prohibiting the wearing of closely fitting outer garments that would reveal the downwards bulging of the breasts.